Guild Wars 2

Just was wondering, can someone suggest a build/equipment set for a bursty theif. I am mostly concerned about PvP, so don’t worry about the caveat “…except this won’t work well in PvE” etc.

THANKS!

The standard SPvP burst build basically look like this:
Dagger/Dagger
30 points in Crit Strikes; take Hidden Killer as one of your traits
25+ points in Deadly Arts; take Mug as one of your traits
All Berserker gear, with Runes of Divinity or Runes of the Scholar
Sigil of Air on one of the weapon slots for the big on-crit proc
Hide in Shadows to heal
Basilisk Venom as your elite to stun opponents; Thieves’ Guild works if you don’t care about the stun so much (many players will just break it anyway)
Signet of Shadows for movement and stomping
Other utilities are usually offensive things like Assassin’s Signet or more venoms (personally I’d throw in a stun break so you don’t get rolled by anyone with decent reflexes)
Second weapon is a Shortbow for mobility

The combo chain is: Cloak & Dagger (dagger 5) -> Steal while C&D is activating -> Backstab (dagger sneak attack skill). Then they usually finish with a mix of Heartseeker (dagger 2) and auto-attacks.

It’s a bit of a one-trick pony, but this is generally what “burst” thieves play. Pistol Whip (S/P using Pistol Whip + Haste) was a thing for a while, too, but it’s unpopular these days due to reduced damage.

Hey thanks, does this work in WvW as well?

also, I noticed that thieves can use pistols (!) is this simply not as viable in PvP?

I don’t recommend “bursty” and “first toon/learning” to be combined.

I spend a lot of time destroying and laughing at this kind because how easy it’s to own them (specially when you snare them and you find them desperatly throwing their burst at thin air). If you’re still learning the game I would sugest you to go to the PvP lobby against the practice Golems and NPCs and find out what every skill and trait does (I would recommend some PvE too as it helps A LOT to get used to some stuff in this game). Don’t ask for the bursty premade build and stick to it because you’re closing every door and never learning. Go to the lobby, go to PvE, experiment with different builds in random PvP fights and find the one that better suits you.

Lenny.2460:

Hey thanks, does this work in WvW as well?

It still kills people if you’re level 80 and have exotic gear. Buuuuut it’s mostly a 1v1 build being applied to a format where 1v1 isn’t how you actually win things. The downsides, generally:

• You don’t have the initiative regeneration to sustain ranged pressure using the Shortbow.
• “All-in” burst builds aren’t so great for escaping from danger.
• You can spike repeatedly, but only one of them will be super-strong, due to Mug’s 45-second cooldown.

The WvW flavor-of-the-month is Pistol/Dagger, which is a gradual, attrition-based kill using constant stealth to avoid a lot of damage. There’s lots of videos of players doing 1vX with it in the middle of nowhere. It’s much more durable but ganking stragglers and newbs in the middle of nowhere is not how you actually win WvW.

In WvW, I play Shortbow for ranged damage and Sword/Dagger for sustained pressure and control. It’s not the most popular setup (I don’t think I’ve ever actually fought another thief doing S/D in WvW, though I’ve run with a couple), but I really like the ability to spam area attacks and then stunlock opponents when I go in for the kill.

~

I recommend Rainythief’s videos. He does a good job covering the trifecta of build + technique + strategy that you need to really be effective. Most of the concepts are applicable to WvW even if you’re likely to tweak the build a bit.

Roll a Warrior. Be tanky and have higher burst then a thief.

Arsenic.8259:

Roll a Warrior. Be tanky and have higher burst then a thief.

If you enjoy PvE, Warrior is great. Don’t try to PvP with it. Just to get this clear for the OP.

Lenny.2460:

also, I noticed that thieves can use pistols (!) is this simply not as viable in PvP?

Pistol is definitely viable in PvP. I run Pistol / Dagger primarily, but this requires a different build that focuses mainly on Shadow Arts and Acrobatics. with condition damage It’s also not considered “bursty” in the least.

If you want full burst, take the advice up above. Just be warned that you have a lot less of a margin for error should you mess up your burst or start getting focused.